Paris!

Justin had to work on Valentines, so we took ourselves to Paris for an early Valentine’s Day gift. I will have to say that this was the gift of all gifts! Paris is so AMAZING! It is just as romantic as everyone says it is! Well, maybe it was because we left our kids with our lovely friend Janene. It has been 5 years since we have really done anything just as a couple. We love taking our boys with us, but it was fun to just be a couple again.

Early Friday morning, we took the Euro-star from London straight to Paris. When we got to Paris we took the Metro (subway) to near our hotel. We wandered around for a while trying to find the hotel, and in the process we got our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. The tower is so awesome! It took my breath away. After we finally found our room, we unpacked and headed straight for the Eiffel Tower. (Our hotel was about 3 blocks away) When we got to the tower it was such an overwhelming feeling to be standing near this amazing structure that most people only dream of seeing. We felt very grateful for the experience. We decided to hike the Eiffel Tower. In the winter you can't go to the very top, but we could go to the second platform. I was very pleased the very top was closed because the platforms were high enough for me. It was 42 stories up to the 2nd platform. There is an elevator that goes up, but the line was long and the tickets for the stairs were cheaper, so we climbed and climbed and climbed. It was an amazing view of Paris. What a beautiful city! After the tower we took a River Seine boat tour ride. That was nice, very cold but nice. We got to see all the amazing bridges and buildings. That night we ate at a very fancy restaurant. The food was delicious and the desserts were even more amazing! The French really know how to cook! It looks beautiful and tastes even better! Oh, and the French people, WOW! I (Liz) have found where I came from. Every woman looked like me, it was amazing! Everywhere we went, there I was. It was like looking in a mirror. I know Zimmerman is not French, but Devereaux sure is.

On Saturday we went to the Arc De Triomphe. That was in the middle of the biggest, scariest roundabout I have ever seen! Luckily there was a tunnel under the road so we could get to the Arc without having to cross the scary street. The Arc is a massive structure. There is lots of amazing carvings all over the Arc. After the Arc, we walked down Avenue Des Champs-Elysees. There were a lot of really expensive shops and fun little places to eat. The only place we went to was the Disney Store. After our stroll, which ended up being a mad dash because of the rain, we decided to take the Metro to the Louvre. The Louvre is an old palace, so the buildings were amazing. We got to see the Mona Lisa, which was pretty cool. It was a normal painting, nothing super special about it, except for the fact it was THE Mona Lisa. After we saw the Mona Lisa, we walked around and looked at the millions of paintings. They say it would take a person 2 years to get through the whole museum if they spent 2 minutes at each piece of artwork. After a while they all started to look the same, and our attention span is about as long as a 5 year old, so we left. After the Louvre we made our way to Notre Dame…AMAZING! It is prettier on real life than any picture could ever show. There are so many stain glass windows. The gargoyles are all in great shape. At most cathedrals the gargoyles have fallen off, but there most of them were still intact. Inside was beautiful! It is just so amazing to be in a place that you think you will only see in pictures or a movie. There is a picture of me (Liz) eating a crepe next to the rose windows of Notre Dame. How cool is that! After Notre Dame and crepes we did some souvenir shopping. There were tons of shops near Notre Dame. When we were done shopping, we found a place to eat. It was a fun little place. Some lady came in with 2 dogs and all the men there were probably more than half drunk, but very entertaining! The food was beautiful and yummy of course! When dinner was over we made our way back to our cute, tiny hotel.

On Sunday we got up early to make our way to Versailles. WOW! I can’t believe people actually use to live like that! It was MASSIVE! The palace was a maze of rooms and hallways. The furniture was gorgeous. We loved how fancy the beds were. The sad thing is that the king and queen didn’t even sleep in the same bed, or room, OR even wing. I am glad we are not royalty, I would miss my Justin. The ceilings were painted with scenes of angel and cherubs. I would not want to paint upside-down like that. We made our way outside and the gardens were so beautiful. I can’t even imagine what they look would like in full bloom. I am going to start saving money right now so we can go back a few years from now in the springtime…it must be so beautiful! We didn’t get to see all the gardens because we had to catch our train back home. The only time I got scared on the Metro was when some teenagers were getting loud in the next car and they started chasing each other up and down the aisles. It thought for sure we were going to witness a stabbing or shooting. I was very relieved when we got off at the next stop. We hopped on our train and came home. The boys were happy to see us for about a minute, and then proceeded to play with their new family.

We feel so blessed to have experienced such a beautiful, amazing city. It you ever make it to Europe, we suggest Paris as one of your stops.